The Government needs to disclose everything it knows about the scale of
migration to the UK

The EU debate risks generating more heat than light. That there is a public thirst for objective information is something we can attest to as a newspaper. The letters and emails that we have received in response to our promise to check claims made by both campaigns confirm that people’s minds are open and that they want to make an informed choice. Concerns about the risks of leaving the EU are balanced by concerns about the dangers of staying in. Immigration is a justifiable worry. As the Most Rev Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said last week, it is “outrageous” to dismiss those troubled about the effects of mass migration as racist.

The only way to analyse the migration issue is to start with clear facts about the numbers involved. Sadly, these are not forthcoming. Official figures claim that around one million EU migrants came to Britain over the past five years – and yet 2.25 million people registered for National Insurance numbers. Mysteriously, the Government has defied any attempts to explain the discrepancy. Jonathan Portes, a fellow at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, tried to use Freedom of Information laws to access figures detailing the number of active insurance numbers being used by migrants – and was rebuffed. The same happened to Andrew Tyrie, who is chairman of the Treasury select committee, and to the MP David Davis. The Office for National Statistics has now announced an official review of migration figures that will, hopefully, clear up the confusion. Whatever it finds could become a defining issue in the EU campaign.

Any pro-EU politician who thinks they help their cause either by labelling those worried about immigration as racist or hiding the facts is mistaken.

Of course, there has always been a place in Britain for those who are fleeing persecution or who are willing to work hard to help themselves and their families. The contemporary concern is about the sheer scale of migration and whether or not EU membership makes matters worse. Dominic Raab, a Eurosceptic justice minister, says that Britain cannot control immigration so long as it remains within the EU. Those looking beyond the English Channel might conclude that the EU cannot control the challenges on its own borders either. A deal has been struck to return to Turkey those refugees trying to cross the waters into Greece. But in exchange the EU has offered 75 million Turks access to the Schengen free movement area, an odd quid pro quo. Meanwhile, people smugglers tell this newspaper that they will simply redirect their boats to Italy.

Immigration can indeed bring benefits to Britain and Europhiles may wish to argue that free movement has proven advantageous. Either way, they need to let the British people make an informed decision for themselves.

While the Government ignores requests for information and the EU tries to buy itself more time by cutting deals, the Labour Party buries its head in the sand. Every week, Jeremy Corbyn puts questions submitted by the public to David Cameron in the Commons. He has failed to mention immigration once. Asked why in a radio interview, John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, implied that the subject had probably never come up in Mr Corbyn’s correspondence. That interview was another indicator of Labour’s irrelevance in the EU referendum.

This debate cannot be dodged. Any pro-EU politician who thinks they help their cause either by labelling those worried about immigration as racist or hiding the facts is mistaken. The public wants to see unbiased data in order to have a rational discussion about this subject. Immigration can indeed bring benefits to Britain and Europhiles may wish to argue that free movement has proven advantageous. Either way, they need to let the British people make an informed decision for themselves.